Scheduling a crowdfunding campaign

Thinking of using crowdfunding to raise money for school resources? Our expert explains how much time to set aside for each part of the process...

How much time should you allow to run a crowdfunding campaign?

Executing a successful crowdfunding campaign requires a good plan, passion and dedication. The amount of time you need to allow will depend on a number of factors:

Does your campaign have a deadline by which you need to collect funds? For example, if you are raising money for a science workshop for National Science and Engineering Week in March, you will need to collect the funds with enough time to book the supplier.

How long will it take for funds to be collected upon completion? Stripe payments are usually transferred within seven days, but offline payments or matched giving funds may take longer to chase up.

How much time will you need to collate information about your project and to prepare any promotional collateral? For example, a new playground build may require input from stakeholders such as pupils and governors. And even once a supplier has been selected, plans can still involve some to-ing and fro-ing. You’ll need to have all your ducks in a row before you launch.

Factor in reward delivery dates. For example, if you are offering tickets to an event as an incentive, you will need to allow enough time after your project ends to deliver the reward to the donor.